


Serendipity

by Sylencia



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Only One Bed, Pre-Relationship, Tumblr Prompt, Wounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-23 02:05:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17071418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylencia/pseuds/Sylencia
Summary: Madara should have come back from his mission a week ago. Tobirama's sent to find him and bring him home.





	Serendipity

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted on Tumblr by Mantykora14
> 
> So .. yeah. Titles are hard.

There were many things Tobirama was willing to do. Especially for the village’s sake. It might not be his dream, he might have been against it for a good part of his life but now he was seeing that it could work, under specific circumstances, he was willing to make sacrifices. He sacrificed his sleep pattern and part of his sanity, surely, to ensure it was thriving. He sacrificed meals to make sure all was good around Konoha.

Aside from this, Tobirama was also willing to push any limit he had been imposed ever since he was born. All these limits his father set around him, to keep him under his control, to make sure he would become his perfect soldier, unlike Hashirama. Tobirama always was aware of them but he didn’t fight them the way his brother did, for he knew they were important. They were what made them thrive. And he followed his father’s words for a long time, even after his death.

There were times when it served him well. Others when he knew he should have made another choice. It was a delicate balance, after all, the kind so impossible to control, to have a hand upon. But it was how it always worked for him, how it always went and even with the lastest huge changes in his life, this, at least, remained the same.

That was what he thought until chaos, in the form of Madara Uchiha, appeared in his life.

Obviously, Madara had been present in his life before. They met more than a decade ago, when he and Hashirama met in secret by the river. It was when he first saw him, that arrogant older boy with his short hair and his eyes flashing red. They met again later, clashing on the battlefield. Madara was one terrible sight, in armor and weapons ready in hands, one that gave him nightmares when younger and sleepless nights when he grew up.

To say it had changed from one extreme to the other was an understatement. For he had realized what pushed Hashirama and Madara to become such great friends. Madara sometimes was an idiot as well. Not the same kind of idiot Hashirama was, that one was unique and could never be imitated but Madara, in private, was .. quite an idiot, yes. He had that dorky side in him, that made him overreact and punch things when he was frustrated, that made him roll his eyes and snicker when he was amused with something. Tobirama had learned a lot about that man. And he couldn’t say he was wary of him anymore.

It also didn’t mean he wouldn’t punch him in the face when he’d finally reach him. A week he should have made it back to Konoha, after being sent on a mission on his own to retrieve some important artifact up north. A simple mission, for someone as strong as Madara was and he had estimated his return on his own, as they often did. But a week had passed, and they had received no news from the man and none of their patrols had sighted him. Which was worrying, seeing how Izuna himself had come to ask about his brother, stating he was never late.

It was why Hashirama decided to send someone after Madara. And of course, as soon as his brother’s eyes landed on him, Tobirama knew it would be his mission.

As much as Tobirama hated it; he had better things to do than chase an idiot in the loose, he was aware that his skills as a sensor were what pushed Hashirama to assigned him this mission. Sure, there were other sensors around Konoha but none better than him. He could feel the slightest form of life, kilometers around him with no trouble. It saved their ass many times before. It was no wonder why Hashirama would send him find his friend.

Spotting Madara’s chakra took time. Because of the distance separating him from Konoha but, at least, he was situated on the road leading back to the village. Which meant that he was indeed on his way back. Unfortunately, he wasn’t moving at all and Tobirama, defying the atrocious weather with lots and lots of grumbling, managed to finally reach him before dusk.

What he stumbled onto was one surprising sight. For Madara was obviously badly injured, seeing the bloodied bandages around his belly as he was sitting, shirtless, in the middle of the wood cabin Tobirama found him in. And there was a splint on his right leg.

“What in Hell did you get yourself into ?”

Madara acknowledged his arrival with a side glance, as well as a grimace but he didn’t answer. He was tending to his wounds, making sure to keep them safe from the dirt covering the cabin’s wood flooring, pouring water against his side and flinching as he did so. Tobirama rolled his eyes at that. An idiot. Here was the proof of it and he took his time when he placed his backpack down, trying not to thank his brother for placing a first aid kit into it before his departure, “just in case”, he walked to Madara.

Tobirama grimaced as well when he finally saw the man’s wounds. Madara had one deep gush on his side, that was currently oozing and probably wasn’t far from getting infected. Tobirama was quick to grab the disinfectant from his kit, pouring a great amount of it onto the wound.

Madara winced, hissing between his gritted teeth.

“Stay still,” Tobirama growled at him, then he glanced at the pot of water Madara had been using. “Did you even boil that water?”

“What do you think I am ? An idiot ?” Maddra answered in a harsh tone, shaking his head and pushing his hair away from his face, and the wound as well. “Don’t be overdramatic, that’s just a scratch.”

Tobirama looked up at Madara’s eyes. A strong gaze that obviously meant he didn’t believe in his act and he went back to taking care of the wound, making sure to apply the liquid properly, before he started bandaging it.

“What happened ?”

Madara scoffed. “A bunch of Kiri nins jumped on me a kilometer away from here. One of them managed to land a hit on me. Obviously. Then I took them down.”

Tobirama eyed the wound. Then Madara’s leg. At least, it explained why he was late. Why he hadn’t managed to make it back to Konoha and he was going to have to endure Hashirama’s smugness when he’d realize he had been right when he said that something happened to his friend. He could feel the headache coming already. He already was annoyed with it.

“Do you think you can walk ? It doesn’t looks good and I’m not a medic. You have to get that checked quickly.”

Madara snorted. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re worried about me, Senju.”

“What if I am ?” Tobirama frowned, still completely focused on the wound and almost, almost missing Madara’s dumbstruck expression. And his pinkish cheeks. Well, at least that made him shut up for a while. Good.

“Can you walk, then ?”

Madara mumbled some instinct syllabes. Then he shrugged. “I sure can limp.”

“Alright, then,” Tobirama nodded to himself, then he left Madara’s side to throw his clothes at him, grab his stuff and his backpack. “Let’s go.”

The moment he opened the cabin’s door made Tobirama realize that they weren’t going anywhere. For the snow was falling hard, now, already high above the ground, up to his knees and seeing the thick clouds looming over the cabin, it wouldn’t be stopping anytime soon. He groaned, out of frustration, as Madara was never going to be able to limp in that much snow, he rubbed his temple, his other arm supporting Madara’s weight as the man was leaning against him for support.

“I guess we’ll have to wait.”

Madara scoffed but he didn’t seem like he wanted to argue. He too could see how much trouble it would be to leave now. It was unlikely they’d lose their way in the snow, they were shinobis after all, but as much as Madara needed a proper medic, he also needed to keep his strength. He wouldn’t, if he had to struggle in the snow. It wouldn’t be bad.

The cabin, as Tobirama looked around them after he put Madara in a dusty chair, was poorly maintained. There was a leak in the roof and Tobirama was quick to place a bucket underneath it, the furniture seemed old and dirty. A hunting cabin, from what he could see and there was a small, just as dusty, bed, pushed on the far side of it. As for the chimney, it looked like Madara had used it during his stay in the cabin and Tobirama focused on it. It already was cold because of all that snow, it wouldn’t do if the temperature dropped even more.

Thankful for the dried wood stocked up in the corner of the cabin, Tobirama fed the still glowing embers, he half smiled when he managed to bring the fire back to life and he glanced over his shoulder, toward Madara.

“Have you eaten lately?”

“Barely,” the Uchiha admitted, leaning on his hand and strands of hair falling in front of his eyes. “I can’t exactly hunt at the moment and my rations have been gone for two days.”

It made sense, of course, seeing how Madara should have come back a week ago, he probably only packed what he needed to begin with. He did so too, so he couldn’t blame the man for not planning ahead and think of all the possibilities. And it was the first time he saw a shinobi as talented as Madara get injured so badly, after all. Sure, he did manage to take Izuna down, even if he held back his last strike. But he created a high level teleportation technique for that very end. He created the Hiraishin especially to counter Izuna’s sharingan.

How many of these Kiri nins did Madara fight on his own to begin with, to find himself in this situation ?

Madara winced when he caught the ration pack Tobirama sent his way. He held his side, biting his lower lip in pain and Tobirama felt bad for him, for a second or two. He did see the wound, it wasn’t looking too good. Madara really needed a medic.

They ate in peaceful silence, Tobirama sitting near the fireplace for warmth, Madara in his chair a few steps away and it was good enough. It was better than arguing anyways and Tobirama sure wasn’t in a state as Madara’s but resting would do him good, after all. They were a long way away from Konoha after, and using his sensor skills to find Madara’s location had been tiring. He needed a good night of sleep for his chakra to get restored and Tobirama was already aware that sleeping wouldn’t be easy in this place.

Madara didn’t argue when Tobirama motioned at him to take the bed. He eyed the dusty top blanket for a second, before he pulled it off, it wouldn’t do any good to him for all that dust to taint his now cleaned injury again, he kicked his shoes off, wincing because of his broken leg and settled in bed with a loud groan. The bed creaked under his weight and Tobirama glanced at him to make sure it wouldn’t break at all, before he settled in the chair Madara just left and sighed. It wasn’t the most comfortable place he’d ever spend the night in but it would do. It had to.

There was only one bed, after all.

An hour passed and Tobirama couldn’t sleep. He had underestimated his level of discomfort on that chair, it was a terribly old thing, creaking the same way the bed did before each time he moved and he couldn’t find a comfortable position. It seemed as if it had been designed that way and Tobirama, for a long time, wondered if he shouldn’t just burn it.

But the chair wasn’t the worst part of his current situation. Because despite the fire he kept feeding with more and more wood, the cold was becoming unbearable. Tobirama couldn’t stop shivering, each time another icy breeze would find its way inside the cabin, each time it managed to slip through the tiniest holes and cracks on the walls and he started to properly tremble in cold, despite how he moved closer to the fireplace, after another hour.

This time, Tobirama couldn’t help the glance he shot Madara. For the man was lying there, oh so far from the fireplace, under a window and he probably was freezing to death. And he was, Tobirama realized when he noticed how hard Madara was trembling, curled up on himself the best he could, seeing his injuries.

It wouldn’t do, Tobirama decided. Madara was in a bad enough shape already, he didn’t need to suffer from the cold above all and Tobirama grunted when he stood. His brother had asked him to bring Madara “back home” after all. He didn’t want to bring a cadaver.

Madara yelped hard, the moment Tobirama grabbed the bed’s side and started to pull it across the room, toward the fireplace. His eyes shot open, wide, sharingan activated because of the surprise and he stared at him for what seemed to be an eternity before he understood what was happening. He did hum in pleasure, as the warmth from the fireplace reached him and Tobirama added a couple of logs into the fire before he kicked his own shoes off.

“What are you doing ?”

“Keeping you alive,” Tobirama answered in a monotonous tone, stretching his sore back, he glared at the chair, then looking down at Madara again. “Izuna would probably murder me if I brought back your corpse.”

“What.”

Tobirama ignored Madara’s confusion, as he sat on the bed, first, to stretch again, half wondering why he was even doing this to begin with. Ah yes, he received orders, didn’t he ? Gods, how he wished someone else would have been sent after that idiot. Then again, anyone else wouldn’t have been as effective as he was, and Madara would have probably died. Surely, seeing his wounds. Tobirama hated being so reliable.

Madara yelped again the moment Tobirama settled down, close because of how small the bed was, and pulled him against his chest. He probably acted on time, seeing how icy Madara’s clothes were and the goosebumps on his skin and Tobirama pinched his lips as he sighed. And that idiot wouldn’t even have told him he was freezing to death, would he ? Men and their pride … Madara probably deserved to die for this.

“Now shut up and sleep,” Tobirama told the older man, eyes locked on the fire so he wouldn’t properly see Madara and he grimaced. “Are you hurting ?”

“I .. no,” Madara breathed out, actually snuggling closer and shivering again, because of the difference of temperature.

Madara shifted a couple of times in the bed, making it creak and move but he eventually stopped. Tobirama was even half surprised he was so accepting at the moment, not even trying to push him away but it probably meant that he had been right about Madara’s state of temperature. He had been freezing to death and now, snuggled between the fireplace and his body, he was feeling better. He was fast asleep, considering the light snoring that soon could be heard around the cabin and Tobirama sighed. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t manage to sleep, not with Madara Uchiha all but snuggled against him.

He was wrong and he fell asleep five minutes later.

Waking up wasn’t too difficult. Actually focussing and not letting himself fall back asleep was and Tobirama was having a hard time doing just that. He was feeling too good, comfortable and warm and he would have slept again hadn’t it been for the poking at his side. He slapped it away, groaning, snuggling closer but it didn’t stop.

“Leave me alone,” he muttered under his breath, rubbing his cheek against the warm surface under his head.

“I would, if you weren’t pushing on my wounds, Senju,” the surprisingly soft voice of a very awake Madara Uchiha answered him and Tobirama pulled back, eyes going wide, he stared.

What .. happened ?

Madara didn’t seem to care for his reaction, checking his bandage carefully, shifting so his broken leg wouldn’t find itself blocked under Tobirama’s weight again. Then he grabbed Tobirama’s collar and pulled him closer again.

“I’m cold,” he grumbled, tucking him under his chin.

But Tobirama was very much awake now, his brain slowly coming to terms with his situation. Right, yes, he shared Madara’s bed so they wouldn’t freeze to death overnight. But it wasn’t nighttime anymore. The whole cabin was flooded with the blinding light of the morning sun, warming its atmosphere instead of the fire who died overnight and Tobirama shivered, realizing he too was a bit cold.

“How do you feel ?” Tobirama enquired, half worried about Madara’s wounds. His current position might not be ideal, but it was needed for them to stay warm enough. But it actually allowed him to assert that Madara wasn’t feverish, which would mean suffering an infection. Good. It was good.

“Cold,” Madara said again, and Tobirama shivered hard when fingers found their way to his hair. “Let’s .. not move yet.”

They didn’t move. Not yet. Tobirama was content enough with it, he wasn’t the kind of person to be fully operational when he woke up, he always needed a certain time before he was and after a couple of seconds, Madara started scratching his head in an automatic manner. Tobirama melted at the gesture, oh so comfortable, oh so relaxed. He knew he shouldn’t be, it made no sense. He and Madara didn’t do this. But here they were. Again, Madara was bringing chaos into his life.

Then again, Madara didn’t ask him to wrap an arm around his chest, careful of his wound. But he did so, still. And he shivered when Madara hummed in approval.

Tobirama couldn’t say he wasn’t at least a bit confused with the situation, though. For he and Madara … well. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This calm yet intense moment where they could lie together, sleep together and wake up side by side.

Looking up probably was a mistake. Tobirama knew it was one but he couldn’t help it and he lost himself in Madara’s eyes, wondering when he stopped fearing them, when he stopped looking away from them. Years of training to avoid the sharingan lost in a split second when he realize how beautiful these bottomless black eyes looked and so many emotions they achieved to hold at the same time and he wondered what was Madara thinking.

He received an answer, that triggered many, many more questions when Madara pushed his lips against his, in a simple yet intense kiss. It didn’t last, Madara probably had imagined he’d slap him away for this. Tobirama didn’t. Confused and surprised at the same time. And he wondered why he didn’t but didn’t seek an answer for too long. Soon enough, he was resting his head comfortably back on top of the pillow, never looking away from Madara’s eyes.

“You were worried, weren’t you ?”

Tobirama scoffed, he shrugged.

“What if I was ?”

“It’s unexpected.”

Tobirama sighed, rolling on his back despite Madara’s despaired groan and how there was so little space on the bed, half his back not supported anymore, he stretched then sat, his back to the Uchiha.

“You’re one of Konoha’s greatest assets, we wouldn’t want to lose you,” Tobirama stated, as he was retrieving his boots and lacing them again. “We’ve got a long way home now, so let’s leave quickly.”

“Wait,” Madara called, trying to catch him but Tobirama dodged his hand. “I’m still cold !”

“You’ll warm up on the way,” Tobirama answered, rolling his eyes and gathering their stuff.

It took some time for Madara to get back on his feet and Tobirama could have helped him but he didn’t. He already was going to support his weight all the way back to Konoha, as Madara’s broken leg would slow them down considerably. It was obvious they wouldn’t make it before night, especially with how late it already was but they wouldn’t stop before they reached Konoha’s gates. Even if he had to carry Madara on his shoulders.

If only he could have used the Hiraishin to bring them both back. He truly needed to improve his jutsu.

“It’s fine if you can’t make sense out of it just yet,” Madara whispered as he limped to his side, where Tobirama was standing at the doorway, waiting for him to be ready and he nuzzled his shoulder, fingers touching the small of his back. “We’ll figure it out. Yes ?”

Tobirama made sure to never look down at Madara, his eyes focused on the snowy path in front of them. He wasn’t sure he wanted to figure anything out, that was but a kiss, one that meant surely nothing. Then again, the burning feeling of Madara’s lips was lingering on his, the way his eyes had shone, his soft grimace that kind of looked like a smile stuck in his mind, a warm feeling settling down his guts. It made no sense, why he would feel this way toward Madara, why he even allowed him for a kiss. It had no proper reason and Tobirama didn’t want to face it, if there was indeed one he couldn’t grasp. And he wondered why Madara seemed so adamant to help him, he wondered what was in it for him. Surely, Madara didn’t think anything significant could happen, did he ?

And so, he eventually looked down at the other man, fully aware it was a mistake, he resisted when Madara tried to pull him closer.

“Nothing happened,” he told the Uchiha, his voice coming out harsher than intended. It made Madara smile and he even laughed that genuine, impossibly adorable way of his.

“Let’s get back home, then.”

Madara adjusted his coat, popping his collar up so the cold air wouldn’t reach his neck, he braced himself on his arm, to step into the snow, careful not to slip and Tobirama resisted, he did but something strong pushed him to act.

Before he could realize what he was doing, he was giving Madara a kiss as soft and quick as the previous one, hands buried among dark locks of hair, possessive for reasons unknown to him.

“I’m cold, Tobi,” Madara whispered against his lips, hands grabbing his and a smile on the lips, as soft as the look in his eyes. “Let’s go home.”

Tobirama scoffed at the short name, he didn’t like these, he turned away harshly enough for Madara to lose his balance and need to catch himself on him and he started walking in the snow, leaving the cabin behind and a ton of questions in mind. Madara yelped, limping after him and soon by his side, leaning against his side for support.

It made no sense. But they shared another kiss when they reached Konoha’s gates, the next morning, after hours of struggling in the snow. Another when waiting for Itama to show up to examine Madara’s wounds. One again as Madara accompanied him to his door on the evening. All of them just as short, all of them just as soft.

But, Tobirama eventually decided that it was one of these things in his life that were impossible to control. One that made his balance lean one way he’d never imagined it would. Because he did care for Madara. He had accepted this mission despite not wanting to go, giving himself false excuses for it. Sure, he was the greatest sensor on the village but another would have managed to find Madara as well, there was no denying it. And he did find Madara.

He found him in more ways he ever imagined he would.


End file.
